60: Next chapter: A boring match
The text on the screen seemed to have a kind of magic, firmly pinning Shen Qingqiu's gaze to it.
The sunlight outside the car window was a bit blinding, but a chill crept up her spine.
In the novel, the protagonist named Yang Jian was lying on a surgical table covered in blood and filth.
The "Ghost Doctor," whose face was covered in stitches, was raising a rusty bone saw, inching closer.
Shen Qingqiu held her breath, her fingers subconsciously gripping the edge of her phone.
According to conventional tropes, there should be some divine intervention or the protagonist would suddenly unleash hidden potential.
But under the pen of the "Hell Dream Weaver," there was never such cheap salvation.
γ Yang Jian didn't struggle; he just quietly watched the Ghost Doctor getting closer, watching those fanatical and twisted eyes above the mask. γ
γ Just as the bone saw was lifted, Yang Jian suddenly spoke. γ
"Doctor, your hand is shaking."
The Ghost Doctor's movements didn't pause at all, and his voice remained nauseatingly gentle:
"Don't be afraid, this is just because I'm too excited. Being able to cure patients is my greatest wish."
"No."
Yang Jian's voice was as cold as ice.
"Your hand is shaking because you are sick too."
The bone saw in the Ghost Doctor's hand stopped abruptly in mid-air, less than a centimeter from Yang Jian's neck.
Yang Jian continued, his speaking pace steady:
"Your left index finger is missing a piece of flesh, the wound is black; that was bitten off by the previous patient. There is a crack at the corner of your right eye, and it is oozing blood. Your white coat is covered in bacteria."
He stared fixedly into the Ghost Doctor's eyes.
"As a doctor, you are full of illness and filth. In this rehabilitation center, patients must be rehabilitated, so what about the doctors? If you don't cure yourself, what qualification do you have to perform surgery on others?"
Dead silence.
The entire operating room fell into a deathly stillness. Only the shadowless lamp emitted a buzzing electric sound.
The Ghost Doctor froze in place, and in those eyes that were originally filled with fanaticism, a sense of bewilderment gradually emerged, followed by immense panic.
The rule had been triggered.
In this eerie world, ghosts cannot be killed, but that doesn't mean they are invincible. They must follow certain killing rules, and once this rule is jammed by a logical paradox, they fall into a death loop. This is "A doctor cannot treat himself."
"I... am sick?"
The Ghost Doctor muttered to himself, his voice beginning to tremble.
He lowered his head, looking at his rotting fingers, looking at the mottled bloodstains on his white coat.
"Yes, I am sick... I am guilty... I am not perfect..."
The next second, a skin-crawling scene occurred.
The Ghost Doctor slowly turned the direction of the bone saw, aiming it at his own wrist.
"I want to be treated... I want to excise... I want to be rehabilitated..."
Accompanied by the teeth-grinding sound of bone friction, the Ghost Doctor began to perform the surgery on himself that was originally prepared for Yang Jian.
Blood splattered, and black liquid sprayed onto the shadowless lamp, making a hissing sound.
Yang Jian seized the opportunity to break free from the restraints and flipped off the surgical table.
He didn't look back at the monster that was self-dismembering, grabbed the backpack placed in the corner, and rushed out of the operating room door without looking back. γ
Shen Qingqiu exhaled a long breath, feeling her palms covered in cold sweat.
Brilliant.
Even if she didn't like this dark style, she had to admit that this way of breaking the deadlock was simply exquisite.
It wasn't about brute force; this kind of intellectual battle using rule loopholes to counter-kill horror was far more heart-stopping than simple bloody stimulation.
She swiped the screen and continued reading.
γ Yang Jian rushed out of the rehabilitation center building.
The world outside was still a dead, grey silence.
There was no sun in the sky, only thick leaden clouds hanging low, as if they could press down at any moment.
But he had survived.
At least this time, he won.
Yang Jian stood on the desolate street, looking back at the building looming in the mist, where the sound of the bone saw friction could still be vaguely heard.
"Lunatic."
He cursed under his breath and turned into the darkness.
However, just when he thought everything was temporarily over, two pale headlights suddenly lit up in the mist ahead.
An old bus stopped silently on the side of the road.
The door was already open.
Yang Jian looked at the bus and sighed.
He knew the rules of the Ghost Bus: Once seen, you must board! γ
The chapter ended abruptly here.
Shen Qingqiu swiped down, wanting to see if there was a continuation.
Her finger touched the bottom of the screen, and a line of bold, heavy preview text popped up.
γ End of Chapter. γ
γ Next Chapter Preview: A Boring Competition γ
γ Update Date: Whenever γ
Shen Qingqiu's fingers froze abruptly.
A boring competition?
These words were like a thorn, piercing precisely into her nerves.
Coincidence?
Tomorrow was the "Jieyou Cup" competition that the whole province was watching, and this competition had already spread across the internet.
And at this critical juncture, this "Hell Dream Weaver" actually set the title of the next chapter as γ A Boring Competition γ.
Was this a provocation? Disdain? Or some kind of malicious joke?
...
In the last row of the bus.
Lin Que, who should have been "fast asleep," was currently curled up in his oversized school uniform jacket, the faint light of his phone screen illuminating his eyes, which had no sleepiness at all.
He really wasn't asleep.
Not only was he not asleep, he was excitedly browsing the author dashboard of the Hongguo Novel Website.
Before going to bed last night, he had specially set a scheduled release.
The timing was very precise, right when the bus hit the highway and everyone was bored and starting to play with their phones.
At this moment, the backend data was skyrocketing like a rocket, and the comment section was as lively as a festival.
γ I'm kneeling! Truly kneeling! A doctor cannot treat himself? This brain hole is simply sky-high! Dream Weaver, how exactly did your brain grow? γ
γ Watching the Ghost Doctor saw his own hand, why do I actually feel a bit satisfied? Am I a pervert? γ
γ To the one above, be confident, remove the "a bit"! γ
γ You are not alone; this is the charm of rule-based killing! It's ten thousand times better than that brainless brawling! γ
γ Yang Jian is too calm. To be able to discover the Ghost Doctor's wound in that situation, this psychological quality, he is worthy of being a man who can survive three episodes. γ
Lin Que looked at these comments, the corners of his mouth slightly raised.
The readers were smart; they quickly got the thrill of the "rule confrontation" setting.
This was exactly the core competitiveness that γ the human world is like a prison γ could stand outβit wasn't about who was scarier, but who was smarter and colder.
His finger continued to slide down, and finally, he saw the comment about the preview.
Just as he expected, this was the highlight of the day.
γ Wait! Brothers, look at the preview! The next chapter is called γ A Boring Competition γ? γ
γ Holy crap, really? Yang Jian just escaped the tiger's den and is going to enter the wolf's den? What the hell is this competition? Could it be ghosts competing to eat people? γ
γ Are you stupid? Connect it to current events! What day is tomorrow? The Su Province "Jieyou Cup" essay contest! γ
γ Hahahaha! You found the blind spot! Is the Dream Weaver being sarcastic? Definitely being sarcastic! γ
γ Dream Weaver: This kind of competition full of positive energy is simply boring to the extreme, might as well come to my book to watch ghosts perform surgery. γ
γ Hilarious, I heard that this competition will use γ The Miracles of the Namiya General Store γ as the topic prompt. Dream Weaver and Jian Shen were already sworn enemies, this wave of mockery is maxed out! γ
γ Bold prediction, next chapter Yang Jian will break into a competition scene, and then turn all the judges into ghosts! γ
Looking at the wild guesses of these readers, Lin Que almost laughed out loud in his school uniform.
These people actually guessed half of it right.
He was indeed using γ the human world is like a prison γ to vent slightly.
Being forced by Shen Qingqiu to participate in the competition, and even having to recite some γ Jian Shen Quotes γ, this feeling was like being forced to eat a meal of boiled vegetables without salt, so bland it made one crazy.
Since he couldn't resist physically, he could only find some fun mentally.
Writing the resentment in reality into the book, letting thousands of readers complain along, this feeling was even more refreshing than drinking iced cola in summer.
"A boring competition..."
Lin Que repeated this title in his heart.
Actually, in the following plot, Yang Jian would indeed be involved in a death game called the "Ghost Domain Survival Competition."
There were no flowers and applause there, only endless slaughter and betrayal.
In comparison, the essay contest held at the Jinling Olympic Sports Center tomorrow really seemed a bit... too gentle.
"However, since I'm here, I have to play the part."
Lin Que closed the author dashboard and switched back to the WeChat interface.
In the pinned chat box, there were a few photos sent by his mom.
In the photo, the old couple was standing at the gate of the neighborhood, holding a red banner that read: "Warmly congratulate Student Lin Que on going to Jinling to participate in the competition and winning the championship!"
Next to them was a circle of neighbors watching the fun, and even that stray dog named "Wangcai."
Lin Que looked at the photo, the playfulness in his eyes slowly faded, replaced by a touch of tenderness.
Although the competition was boring, for the sake of this banner, for those red underpants, for the energy his mom showed off in her social circle... this play, he still had to act it out well.
For the sake of that silly banner, for those kitschy red underpants, for the satisfaction of his mother showing off in her social circle... this warm drama, he not only had to act, he had to act as the protagonist.
The bus suddenly shook slightly, and the speed slowed down.
A voice with a heavy local dialect came from the driver over the broadcast: "Dear teachers and students, wake up! We have arrived!"
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